Jelsa Short Collection
by RaeDeAnne
Summary: Here a a few short fics written as inspiration strikes. Some are modern AU, some true to canon, and they have no particular order or design. Could be part of a more lengthy project over time. They range in emotions, but consistently feature Jelsa in some capacity. Kristanna also often included.
1. Great Stone Monuments

**Author's Note: **

Well, I want to write more. Unfortunately, writing fanfiction in addition to my personal writing projects is quite the ordeal. Thankfully, practicing with pre-existing characters is a worthy warm-up. I end up with a collection of short stories spattered here and there, but people seem to still enjoy reading them. I hope, by making them available here, even more people will enjoy them. Ideally, they will be released every other week or so, but since they are disconnected, it will depend on my schedule and inspiration. Most of them are quick and easy reads, but I hope you find them good as well.

To start it off, I have a rather sad tale. Though, you can be the judge. The piece is a modern AU based loosely off of the "Thaw" universe created by my best friend, Jo (hotcuppahjo-art on tumblr). Her artwork is also featured as the cover. I wrote this piece as a Mother's Day tribute, which is quite complicated for the Jelsa ship, but I think it turned out well enough. There will be more "cute" to come, I promise.

_Here's to mothers everywhere, even the ones who made mistakes._

Reviews are welcome, if you so desire.

* * *

The leather of the armrests dried into ice as she ran her fingers over it, and she jerked her hand back. Her fingertips pulsed with the power, the emotion. And her restraint was failing. The ebb and flow of her powers took over like this sometimes. Love was only a partial solution; there were still times when the love was so great that it morphed into grief. The interior of the car was icing over, despite the futile attempts of the air conditioner to reheat it. Frost splintered across the window panes.

He put his hand over hers. He didn't say anything. Usually,he said something, but she knew herself there wasn't anything to say. Five years had passed, two of which she had spent dedicated to her company. Still, the tears were a whispered reminder away. Visiting this place always made it worse, because she hadn't attended the service.

"I have to go," she said, more for her sake than his. He nodded.

He ducked out of the car and came around to the driver's side to open the door for her. It took her a few moments to unfreeze her hands from the steering wheel. She'd likely make Jack drive home. She wasn't sure she'd be stable enough after this.

Every footstep crackled as the dry grass froze. She picked her way along the path that maneuvered through the graves, scattered with green mossed stones. Thousands of past footfalls, heavy with grief, had shaped the path into a hard, unforgiving surface. Elsa didn't want to look up – she knew she'd see them right away – but Jack's arm supported her and kept her standing. So, with a deep breath, she looked up.

Two figures, distorted by multiple layers of clothing, stood before two great stone monuments. A large golden dog sat next to them, looking as forlorn as the couple. Elsa never bundled up in this kind of cold, but Anna and Kristoff hadn't the same tolerance. Jack cleared his throat to announce their arrival.

Anna looked up and flew toward Elsa with a gasp. "You came!" she exclaimed as her arms enveloped her sister. Remnants of tears still sparkled at the corner of her eyes.

Elsa cautiously returned the hug. There would always be the part of her that wanted to avoid the cemetery – the part afraid of what might happen. But instead of giving in, she just patted her sister's back and said, "Yeah. Of course I came."

Anna clung longer than Elsa wanted her to. She wanted the support of her sister, but the idea that she needed it made the tears burn into her eyes more quickly.

"They'd be so happy you came," Anna whispered as she finally pulled away. "They'd be so proud."

Elsa pressed her lips together, her eyes growing wide. Instinct yelled at her to conceal, not to feel, but two years of freedom convinced her otherwise. She let the feelings roll over her. Snow began to fall from the sky. No one reacted fearfully. The weather may have been a product of her roiling emotions, but she had complete control now. And snow was not uncommon this time of year.

She stood as close to Jack as physics allowed. Anna moved back to Kristoff's side, and his muscular arm wrapped around her shoulders. For a while they all stood there in silence. Shadows slowly swelled around them as the sun began to set behind the towering monuments of Idun and Agdar. It felt right to visit family with family. Though she hadn't yet accepted Jack's proposal, he was family in her heart. Anna and Kristoff tried to make her feel welcome at their condo, but now that they were expecting, they were focused on preparing for a family. Elsa wouldn't have it any other way.

After a while, Anna walked toward Idun's gravestones and rested her gloved hand on the icy surface. A moment of silence. Then, "I'm making dinner tonight. Would you and Jack like to come share?"

Elsa shook her head, a strand of silver falling loose from the tight bun, done up as Idun had taught her. "Could you give me a minute alone with them? Please?"

Anna smiled and reached for Elsa's free hand. With a brief, reassuring squeeze, she knew Anna understood. Then the couple was gone, down the path, an oblivious Sven trotting merrily behind.

She turned so that she could see Jack's encouraging eyes. Slowly, she released his hand and spread her palm over his chest. He nodded. "I'll go start the car."

Her tight lips turned up slightly – only slightly – as he walked away.

When she was alone, the emotions choked her. She tugged at the edges of her light blue scarf, but the pressure in her throat would not let go.

"Mama, Papa," she whispered. It hurt to say goodbye to them, finally, this personally. They had always been there for her. Rumors on Arendelle's lower floors believed that her parents had been at fault for the regression of the young heiress.

Elsa knew better.

When she had been most afraid of herself, they hadn't been. They had lovingly encouraged her, all the while hoping that she would learn the secrets to controlling the magic and emerge from her room, head held high. She hadn't even let them near her when she'd needed them most. Maybe they hadn't made the best choices about her upbringing, but they'd believed in her. And they'd loved her. She wished she had focused on that sooner. She wished she'd learned that her own terror had only fueled the blazing blizzard.

"You were there for me even when you didn't know how to be," she said. A tear froze on her cheek as it tried to escape. With a flourish of her hand, she knocked the drop of ice away. "But I can't make the same mistakes we did back then. I can't hide. I'll do my best to lead Arendelle to success, without the fear I once had. I will make you proud."

With the tip of her finger, she traced an outline of frost on the stone beneath her mother's name. Her father's was more difficult to get through, and her hand shook with the effort. A deep breath helped her steady her hand enough to finish the design.

When she was done, she smiled. She left the cemetery with renewed confidence and she drew the falling snow closer to her, where it swirled powerfully. Behind her, the frosty crocus designs were already beginning to fade, but they had already made her point to her parents. She had control now. And she would never lose it again


	2. Girl's Night

**Author's Note:** This is actually a much older work. By much, I mean of course a few months, but that still seems significant. This one also has a much lighter tone than the other, thankfully. One of Jo's really early pieces had a brief clip of the scene, but I've been bugging her about doing a piece with a side-by-side comparison of the Kristanna and Jelsa sled-rides. After I get my other older pieces posted, I hope to start writing additional shorts regularly.

Reviews or requests are always welcome, if you're so inclined!

* * *

Elsa clung to her mug of cocoa as tightly as Anna clung to the pillow in front of her. The warmth of it radiated through her chest, some of it shining outward in a sheepish grin and the hint of a blush. Of course, it wasn't just the cocoa. The sheepish grin was too hard to hide when Jack was on her mind.

For lack of a better phrase, Anna had always been the more enthusiastic of the two sisters. She did everything with vigor and passion. Sometimes that passion had a tendency to surprise others, but tonight Elsa's own passion expanded from Anna's foundation.

For a moment after Anna had brought the cocoa in, Elsa had rambled about the stresses of running a multi-national corporation as a 21 year old. All of which bored Anna to death. When the conversation had slipped to boys, Elsa hadn't bothered resisting and embraced it instead.

"But today was the best trip yet!" Anna exclaimed. "I swear Sven was going so fast his paws were on fire."

"On fire... in the snow?" Elsa asked, the grin widening.

"Yeah, yeah, but that's not even the best part! We hit the drift going crazy fast and we flew ten feet through the air!"

Elsa couldn't help but raise an eyebrow as she set her cocoa down. "Ten feet?" Another tendency of Anna's: over-exaggeration.

"Yeah! My heart was pounding so loud I could hear it over my scream, but it was totally okay and I was totally safe because Kristoff had his arms around me the whole time..." She trailed off, getting that goofy look in her eyes and bunching up her cheeks with her smile. "And I can't wait to go again, because next time we'll hit twenty feet, I'm sure of it!" She punched the pillow in excitement.

Elsa's giggle chimed like falling ice. "It sounds like the perfect outing."

"It was." There was the dreamy look again. And then sudden focus. "You should get Jack to take you out in the sled sometime!"

The mental image made Elsa fall into a fit of laughter. Sven had a bit of a hard time with the concept of Jack Frost. The dog could only see him part of the time – a fact which Jack found the source of endless amusement and the basis for countless pranks. And she could imagine the disaster of an invisible man trying to steer an excitement-crazed dog in a wooden sled. It would probably end in actual fire and likely some broken bones.

"I don't know if that's a very good idea," Elsa said, still laughing. "I don't think Jack would take it very seriously."

"But it'd be so fun!" Anna protested.

"It'd be a disaster!" Elsa retorted.

"But it would make for such a good story!" Anna exclaimed, unfazed.

"I'd have to buy Kristoff a new sled by the end of it, Anna! And we only just replaced his bike! What will he think of us then?"

The imaginary sled debacle crossed Anna's mind then and her eyes widened. "Oh my gosh, Sven wouldn't even know he was there!"

"I know!" The girls dissolved into a fit of humored hysterics. The laughs made the fuzzy feeling in Elsa's heart even stronger. She just enjoyed being young again and not worrying about the weight of work or the jobs of millions or the rival organizations. It was freeing to just dwell on the good things with her younger sister.

When the laughs finally fizzled to a stop, Elsa sighed. "Jack can be a handful more often than not."

Anna's smile froze to her face, even after the laughs died. "But he still gives you that weird stomach feeling, right? Kristoff always gives me that feeling."

Elsa was about to agree – in fact, her stomach felt that way right then – but a noise at the door cut her off. An orange carrot poked hesitantly into the open door, before the snowman it belonged to waddled in.

"Oh!" Anna exclaimed. "Olaf! What's wrong?"

The snowman looked up at them with huge, round eyes that pleaded for attention. "I missed you guys."

"Aw, that's sweet," Elsa said. "We just escaped for some girl talk."

Olaf gasped and, if it was even possible, he eyes got bigger. "Can I join in on girl talk too?!"

"Of course," Anna replied, patting the spot next to her on the bed. Olaf, after some struggling and much needed assistance from Anna, clambered onto the bed.

The two balls of snow acting as his feet bounced up and down. "So what are we talking about?"

"Boys!" Anna sang. Then, without warning, she burst into more boisterous laughter.

"Jack and Kristoff," Elsa offered in explanation. Anna was completely and utterly lost to her laughter.

"Oh! I love talking about Jack and Kristoff!" Olaf said, grabbing his non-existent toes with his twiggy fingers.

Anna's hand flew to her mouth and she choked on her laugh. Her eyes met Elsa's, full of unspoken meaning.

The sisters exploded into laughter again. Anna clutched the pillow to her stomach and doubled over. Elsa fell sideways onto the bed in merriment.

Olaf sat still, oblivious. "What's so funny? Guys? What's so funny?" He blinked a few times. "Guys?"

But the two sisters couldn't answer through the giggles. Elsa couldn't even see through her welling tears. It was the most fun the heir to Arendelle had had in weeks. And she stayed up way longer than she ever meant to, talking and laughing late into the night with her sister and her snowman.


	3. On the Rooftops of Arendelle

**Author's Note: **So, unfortunately this is the last story I have to release for now. I'm certain to have a few more soon, but a bout of sickness has left me playing frantic catch up on work hours. Hopefully this weekend will give me a greater opportunity to finish the new short I started. I really like the idea, but I suppose it's all about finding the time. Don't worry! It'll get done! Thanks for the support thus far.

This one's shorter. But it's succinct. I hope you enjoy it.

Reviews and requests always welcome!

* * *

There was something about lying in the cold, white blanket that calmed her mind. It seemed funny, looking back, how this cold sensation had been the biggest fear in her life. Now it was her strength and, as each speck of snow drifted on to her face, she reveled in the energy it sent through her body. She drew power from the cushion of snow beneath her and tried to clear her mind.

"Your kingdom would be disappointed if its queen slipped off an icy rooftop," Jack said from behind. She'd stopped jumping at his voice long ago. He gleaned too much merriment from sneaking up on people – a product of his years spent invisible to the public eye, she supposed. Still, the sound of it brought a timid smile to her lips.

"I would never slip on ice. It wouldn't betray me like that," she quirked an eyebrow up and opened her eyes to see his figure standing tall against the mountainous backdrop. His white hair shone where the moon's light glinted off the strands.

"Maybe not the ice. I'm more worried about those heels." His face turned from the sky to hers, and his wide grin churned her stomach. To shake it off, she kicked a shoe of solid ice at him. Instead of trying to catch it, he ducked, and the glassy ice shattered against the wall.

"See?" he said, trying to sound offended, but laughing too much to pull it off, "Heels can kill."

Her laughed chimed like bells and his grin settled into a softer smile. "May I join you on your pillow of snow?"

"There's always room for two." She scooted over, leaving a faint impression where she'd just been. He nestled in next to her, and that feeling washed over her again, like it did whenever he was around. It was the strangest, most exhilarating phenomenon: warmth and cold uniting against her skin.

"You only come up here when you need to think," he said, bringing her mind back to reality. "What's on your mind?"

There was something about the vantage point the rooftop of the castle of Arendelle provided. From here she could she the distant snow-capped North Mountain, the powerful consistency of the fjord, and the village just outside the palace gates. Every one of them was a reminder of her power and her responsibility.

"How is it," she mused, struggling to put the feelings to words, "that when I was alone on a mountain I felt so powerful? But now that I have the power of a crown and a court and I don't ever have to stand alone again... How do I feel so helpless?"

He tucked his arm tighter around her. Her hair fell in a platinum halo against his chest. "Responsibility can be a heavy burden, especially if you're compensating for something."

"I froze my entire kingdom. What do you have to compensate for?" She'd meant the question seriously, but as soon as she heard the rumble of laughter in his chest, she knew he'd taken it differently.

"Absolutely nothing," he said proudly.

She swatted his arm playfully. "I'm trying to think about serious royal business and you're distracting me by being a royal pain."

His fingers squeezed her arm and she looked up at him. "Even decades of immortality haven't given me all the answers. I wish I could help you more, but I'm not the most suited for running a kingdom. You were right about one thing though."

"What's that?" she asked, momentarily mesmerized by the twinkle in his eyes.

"You never have to stand alone again."


	4. Crowns, Snowflakes, and Hearts

**Author's Note:** It's been a while since I've posted a Jelsa story. And, in all honesty, as many ship weeks as are coming up, it may be a while before I post another one after this. However, I enjoyed writing this one in the meanwhile. I hope you enjoy it too!

(I did bump the story rating up to T for slight suggestiveness... But no more than that, I promise.)

Reviews and requests welcome!

* * *

"Crowns, Snowflakes, and Hearts"

* * *

Her belief in him never wavered, but there were moments where she just couldn't believe him. His nerve, his pranks, his jokes, his insensitivity drove her to insanity. He would call them moments of fun. She called them moments of idiocy. Maybe they wouldn't be so frustrating if everyone else could see him like she could. But they couldn't. And most of his snowy adventures were blamed on her, a misunderstanding she couldn't afford as a new queen on already unsteady footing.

Elsa loved every aspect of Jack Frost, but their responsibilities were as different as summer and winter. While his job included basking in the cold, hers entailed holding a kingdom together. It wasn't helping that he was visiting Arendelle increasingly more often and the snow days were becoming increasingly more frequent.

She'd had enough. Any sane person would have. And when she broke, she lashed out, then ended up sprawled on her four-poster bed, cycling through the argument in her head.

The breaking point hit one day towards the end of her first full summer on the throne, a big freeze swept through the kingdom. She wore her cloak out into the marketplace, though truly the cold didn't bother her as it should have. "The Queen must be having a bad day today," a bald man muttered as she passed him and his wife. "We can't expect full summers with a snow Queen on the throne," his wife agreed.

Rumors flittered from mouth to ear over stall counters, mostly about the curiosity of the weather, but some went so far as to express doubt in her ability to lead if freezes like this would be more frequent. One little girl recognized her and sidled up next to her. With her brown hair pulled up in little pigtails, the girl reminded Elsa of a younger Anna. "El–, I mean your Majesty." For a moment, the girl lifted her spirits with one freckled smile. Then she asked, "Why'd you make it snow early again? You're okay, right?"

Taking on an air of seriousness, Elsa knelt and cupped the little girl's cheek. "Of course I'm alright. And I'll fix the weather. I promise." She lifted a finger to her lips as if was a secret, then rose and took off towards the castle.

The fight with Jack had been explosive. She didn't mean to criticize him so much, but snow days were not just fun and games in her kingdom. In Arendelle threatened her credibility in the eyes of her people. Surely he had to understand that about her. She couldn't afford doubt in her abilities to lead just because of her ability to freeze.

He'd stormed off in the opposite direction, leaving a trail of frost along the surface of the hall tapestries.

If they believed in him, they'd know they could trust her. But how could they believe in him, when his actions were immediately blamed on her? When the only plausible way of getting them to believe would be asking him to disappear?

She curled her fingers into a fist and slammed it against the violet comforter. She doubted her ability to help them believe. She wondered how her belief could stay so strong. He knew she'd never doubt him, didn't he?

Reluctantly, she dragged herself off the bed and slipped out into the hall.

"Jack?" she whispered. Usually he could be found nearby, and if not, she knew his regular haunts.

She flung open door after door searching for him, but he was hiding behind none of them.

She began to get frantic. She checked the throne room and her bedroom twice, and the rooftop where the often spent time alone three times. She was beginning to worry that he'd fled Arendelle altogether. Or worse – that she could no longer see him.

Sighing, she made her way down to the kitchen as a final resort. It was also the least likely place she'd find him as he no longer ate for sustenance. She lingered her hand on the door handle before she faced another empty room. But she refused turn away without at least a look.

"Elsa!" Anna exclaimed as she opened the door. "We made cookies!" She thrust a steaming tray of golden-brown delicacies in Elsa's face, surprising the queen into a smile.

"Yeah," Olaf agreed, "I helped." Though Elsa noticed he wisely stood a safe distance from the furnace.

"They're shaped like crowns. And snowflakes." A man's voice from behind her.

Immediately, she spun and sagged into his chest, "Jack!"

"Get it? Crowns and snowflakes?" he repeated. She was too anxious to laugh, but she let out a wheezing giggle. "Oh right," he added, pulling away from her and reaching around her. "And hearts." Playfully he drew the cookie up to his face and hid behind the heart so that he barely peered at her over the top edge. "The hearts are because I love you."

"You don't hate me?"

"No, I don't. I do understand. And we can figure it out. It may mean I spend less time in Arendelle so I can focus on my responsibilities and you can dedicate time to yours, but the last thing I'd want to do is jeopardize your throne. I get it. Arendelle has more limitations than most places I visit. Sometimes I forget that there's someone here who already has winter weather covered."

"And he's trying to make it up to you, clearly," Anna sang, once again proffering the tray of cookies.

"I'm trying really hard," he nodded, taking Elsa's hand and pressing it to his lips before flattening her palm and pressing the heart cookie into it. "I even went to find your sister in the mountains." He glanced at Anna before adding conspiratorially, "She spent the weekend with Kristoff."

Elsa shot a brief glare over her shoulder at her younger sister. Anna just grinned and shrugged, her cheeks suspiciously chubby. Olaf was covering his mouth and trying not to laugh.

"Hey," Jack said, drawing her gaze back to his with a gentle hand on her cheek. "Forgive me?"

"Of course," she said on an exhale. "I believe in us. I believe in you." Those words were more important to her – and them – than even "I love you."

"I believe in you too."

Crumbs sprinkled down in front of her eyes and she looked up. Just above her forehead, Jack held one of the crown shaped cookies. He chuckled as she rolled her eyes and finally relaxed into a smile. "Alright, you three win. Let's try the cookies."


End file.
